Investigating different factors on the outcome of severe Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis in 110 women from 2017 to 2021: A cross-sectional study

AimIdiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis is a distressing chronic disease without precise etiology and cure. While this disease is rare worldwide, it has been recorded as a prevalent one in Middle Eastern countries; therefore, our aim to investigate the role of different factors on the outcome of the severe form of the disease can shed light on various aspects of the disease. MethodsWe retrospectively identified 110 Iranian women, from 2017 to 2021, with severe Idiopathic Granulomatous Mastitis who met the required histological criteria of this benign disease. All patients had developed severe mastitis according to their signs and required treatment. After gathering the information retrospectively, we analyzed them by using statistical tests. ResultsIn our study, most patients were overweight or obese in their reproductive age with a positive history of pregnancy and breastfeeding. It typically appeared as a painful erythematous mass-like lesion in the upper-outer of the left breast (mean size: 26.75 {+/-} 20.08 mm). Approximately half of the participants experienced extra-mammary manifestations such as arthritis, hair loss, or erythema nodosum. Even though all patients were treated with corticosteroids and Methotrexate or Azathioprine, 32.33% were not completely remitted. Lastly, we realized that there are statistical associations between three variables (family history of Granulomatous Mastitis, the size of the lesions, and the number of recurrences) and the final outcome; all P-values were less than 0.05. ConclusionThe remission rate may decrease when the lesion size exceeds 5 cm, and some hereditary factors may play a role in the response to treatment.